Elenger opened its first solar plant in Latvia
Elenger, the largest privately owned energy company in Finland and the Baltic region, opened a solar power plant with a capacity of 4 megawatts in Nica, near Liepaja, in the sunniest place in Latvia.
Opening of the Nica solar park. June 27, 2024
“Our goal is to diversify our energy portfolio, and the new solar power plant is a significant step forward in our common commitment to develop renewable electricity production in Latvia. The new power plant will also be a benefit for our customers who care about sustainability and who want to buy green electricity, while achieving greater energy efficiency,” said Dāvis Skulte, CEO and chairman of the board of SIA “Elenger”. “We regularly evaluate various projects and directions in the field of renewable energy to be developed in the coming years, and we see potential in solar and wind energy and biomethane production. In Estonia, we have successful experience with solar parks and biomethane production plants. We will use this experience to continue developing green energy production in Latvia,” Skulte commented.
“Each new renewable energy project brings Latvia closer to stable and affordable energy prices for both residents and businesses, creates jobs and promotes economic development. A distributed portfolio of energy production, which includes sun, wind, biogas, in the future also hydrogen and other sources, will strengthen the country’s independence from external influences,” said Minister of Climate and Energy Kaspars Melnis.
“The rapid growth of renewable energy capacity is an important component to achieve the goal of doubling Latvia’s economy by 2035. The security factor is also important – Latvia must be ready to ensure continuous energy supply at a reasonable price after the power grids are disconnected from the BRELL circuit at the beginning of next year. Every new renewable energy project, including the new Nica solar power plant, helps to achieve this goal,” emphasized Minister of Economy Viktors Valainis.
Elenger’s new solar power plant is located near Liepaja in Nica, which is one of the sunniest regions in Latvia. The solar park with nearly 7,000 panels covers 5.3 hectares and will produce 4.5 GWh of energy per year. The solar power plant was built in cooperation with SIA “OMS”, one of the largest builders of electrical installations in the Kurzeme region. Elenger invested 2.5 million euros in the construction.
Elenger started solar energy production in 2019, when together with a company belonging to the city of Pärnu, it launched Estonia’s largest solar park complex at the time at the former Rääma landfill. The Pärnu solar power plant consists of 13,000 panels and the power of its panels reaches 4.7 megawatts. Elenger has also built some twenty smaller solar plants for its customers all over Estonia.
In addition to the production of solar electricity, Elenger operates in the field of biomethane in renewable energy by selling the gas produced at three biomethane plants in Estonia as engine fuel at its CNG filling stations. Biomethane is a fuel with a negative footprint promoting the circular economy, it is produced from biodegradable waste, manure, wort, food waste.
Elenger is the largest energy company on private capital in Finland and the Baltic region. The company operates in Finland, the Baltic states, Poland and Germany, in native market Estonia Elenger is called Eesti Gaas.
